


The Dragon's Wrath

by blandiblu



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:20:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blandiblu/pseuds/blandiblu
Summary: Zeno keeps a secret. There's a fifth dragon. But she's not their sibling or friend, is an enemy. A warrior who drank the blood of a vengeful and fierce goddess. A warrior who can destroy whole armies. A warrior... Who can kill him.But secrets are like the sun... They can't be hidden for too long.
Relationships: Shin-Ah (Akatsuki no Yona)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. Prologue

It’s dark.  
The tight-linked metal chains surround my body, leaving me able to take only shallow breaths. They're scared of me--no they hate me. They took my family from me.  
I'm starving. I think it’s been at least two days since I last ate, and the hunger is slowly starting to affect my body. The dryness in my mouth is unbearable, and my eyelids are weighed down.  
 _KILL THEM._  
The thought crosses my mind suddenly but overtakes every other idea in my head. My blood is boiling. Hunger. This raging hunger. I’m starving.  
 _DRINK THE BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES._  
It’s been ages since the voice in my head was this loud, this intense. I haven’t heard this sinister voice since I was a child,restrained in the dark.  
 _KILL THEM._  
Where are my brothers? Are they near here? Are they alive? Will I be able to reach them if I break the chains? No, they may kill my brothers before I even get the chance to find them.  
 _KILL THE SEIRYUU._  
Seiryuu? What does that mean? The voice in my head grows louder every second as if each phrase is echoing from the end of a tunnel and rushing towards me. I must control it. I must control this demon.  
I’m not sure how many days have passed since I was captured. The only thing I am aware of is that I’m trapped, chain-bound, in a moving wooden cage. I'm starving. I'm thirsty. I'm worried about my brothers. What do they want me to do?  
 _KILL THEM._  
That overwhelming thought dominates my mind. Control. I must control the demon. I can still hear the whip cracks from my past. I tremble.  
"King Soowon! Now, look at the monster I have caught to destroy the Kingdom of Kouka!" The boastful and haughty voice belongs to no other than the army general.  
King? They aim to use me as a weapon to destroy a kingdom?  
Would they free my brothers if I do so? What should I do?  
 _Drink their blood._  
I'm starving.  
 _Drink their blood._


	2. Like a nightmare

Zeno woke up in a cold sweat. For a moment, his dilated pupils could only see darkness as he was overcome with fear. His breathing was heavy and his resting heartbeat was rapid as though he had just barely escaped from danger.

Two thousand years. It has been two thousand years since the gods last spoke to him; yet, after centuries, they chose to tell him _that_. 

A pink dragon grinned in his dream, her fangs covered in blood, and her golden eyes tinted by madness and sadism.

“I’m back,” she said. “You’re not going to make it out alive this time”.

Memories from long ago suddenly surfaced: a battle between two dragons,one being himself and, the other, a war beast. He could still feel the pain, the fear, and the hatred. He hated her; she hated everyone. 

What troubled Zeno the most, though, wasn’t that the pink dragon hated everyone, but rather it was the intensity of hatred that she held for the one she despised the most. That person would be the one most endangered if the pink dragon truly had returned.

When Zeno’s eyes came into focus, he calmly took in his surroundings. The tent was empty, with nearly nothing present to show that it was actively being used other than Zeno’s presence. Even the blankets that were often sprawled out on the ground had been neatly folded and packed away in a corner. It seemed that Zeno had overslept, a habit from his past which had grown slightly out of hand.. He got up quickly and came out of the tent in a frenetic race. 

“Seiryuu!” he screamed from the top of his lungs. “Seiryuu!”

With puzzled expressions, the soldiers made way for him, though not a single person in Kouka would stay in the way of a dragon, much less one that looked as desperate as Zeno did.

“Seiryuu!” he screamed again, his throat felt sore after that scream.

 _Why now?_ He thought. It was the worst moment possible for her to come back. They were in a war campament, the war against South Kai was about to start, Yona was in hands of the King, Hak was in grave danger, and… finally, he didn’t want to lose his brothers now that he found them after all those years walking the kingdom alone.

“Seiryuu!” he was starting to feel really desperate, the only reason why he knew the pink dragon wasn’t there yet was because everyone was still alive.

Not for long though.

A pair of strong hands grabbed him by his shoulders and made him stop.

“Wow there, Zeno, why are you looking for Shin Ah so frantic in the morning?” asked Jaeha, looking worried, the older one wasn’t usually so anxious.

“Zeno will explain when he finds him. Zeno needs to see with his own two eyes that Seiryuu is alright” he said. 

Jaeha worriedly looked at his brother. Zeno was always the most joyful and carefree one in the group. In all of the months that he’s known him, Jaeha hadn’t ever seen Zeno like this. He was totally out of his mind, looking everywhere with widened eyes, his whole body shaking in fear.

“Okay, let’s look for Shin Ah together. He’s probably with Yoon having breakfast,” stated Jaeha in an attempt to put Zeno at ease.

Jaeha started to walk away, expecting Zeno to follow him quietly, but the yellow dragon surprised him when he grabbed his sleeve to walk alongside him. Jaeha truly started to get really worried;Zeno usually acted like a kid despite his age… but this was a whole different matter.

After a few minutes of walking, the two arrived at the infirmary camp where soldiers who had injured themselves in battle were being treated. Yoon was there, along with Min Soo, King Soowon’s servant, administering medicine to a young man with a gash in his back.

“Yoon, have you seen Shin Ah?” asked Jaeha, trying to maintain his composure, partially for Zeno’s sake, but also to make sure they didn’t draw any more attention to themselves than usual.

“Shin Ah? He went to the forest to look for acorns for Ao,” replied Yoon. Immediately, Zeno became pale and nearly fainted, an unexpected occurrence for the dragon with perfect health.

“Zeno, don’t worry, Kija went with him,” Yoon quickly added, trying to calm him but without any success.

“That doesn’t solve anything! They’re in danger!” declared the Ouryuu.

“I know you’re old, Zeno, but that’s not a reason to treat us like children,” Yoon added, stubbornly.

“You don't understand--,” Zeno started, only to be interrupted by a new voice.

“Zeno?”

The three of them turned to the voice of Kija. Shin Ah was next to him with his hands full of acorns, but Zeno made him drop them as he jumped into his arms.

The two dragons that just arrived were confused by his behavior.

“He’s been like this since he woke up, frantically calling for Shin Ah,” explained Jaeha.

“Seiryuu is okay, Seiryuu is okay,” Zeno repeated to himself.

“What’s gotten into the old man?” A new person came into the scene, carrying a glaive in one hand, resting it casually on his shoulder as though it weighed no more than a small bag;it was Hak. His eyes shifted between Zeno and the rest of the dragons, and the amusement that was apparent on his face at first quickly transformed into an expression of concern.

Zeno had stopped paying attention, however, to those entering and leaving the tent. Instead , he kept his eyes closed, hugging Shin Ah as he unwillingly remembered the past. He remembered seeing the village burning to ashes, hearing the screams of families being torn apart, of those losing their loved ones suddenly, and the rotting smell of the dead bodies that cloaked over the area. He also remembered a woman. A woman standing in the middle of all that chaos with blood slipping from her mouth… blood that wasn’t hers. And the worst part of that massacre: she was standing over Abi’s dead body with his heart in her hand. Squeezing his heart, she linked eyes with Zeno, and licked the blood of the Seiryuu as it slipped down her forearm.

“Zeno,” Shin Ah’s soft and calm voice brought him back to the present, though he was still shaken up by that nightmare “Are you okay?” he asked.

Zeno tried to come back to his senses and think objectively. First, he had to put everyone in a safe place.

“Zeno needs to speak to the king,” he said. “This army will be slaughtered if you don’t go back to Kouka.” 

Hak’s eyes widened considerably, their deep blue color becoming more visible in the light. “I know someone who is close to advisor Kyesook. I will talk to him to request an audience with his majesty,”he stated, hurrying out of the tent.

The four dragons waited patiently, keeping a close eye on Zeno, who was failing to keep his mind in the present.

He spent hundreds of years equally hating his destiny and that woman, blaming the gods for both. Now that he had finally come to terms with his powers, she decided to reappear to haunt him.

After waiting for what felt like hours, a sky tribe’s soldier called the group to have their requested audience with the king. While Yoon stayed in the makeshift infirmary, the four dragons followed the soldier, worried about Zeno’s words and behaviour as he still was holding Shin Ah by the wrist.

He didn’t want to see another Seiryuu die in her hands.

The soldier made them enter an expensive tent, inside it were King Soowon, advisor Kyesook, General Joodoh, and Yona.

If it was another time, Zeno would have been overjoyed to see his Miss, but now was different. He was too fearful to celebrate.

“Ouryuu, this soldier says you proclaimed that our army will be slaughtered if we do not go back to Kouka. Do you care to explain?” said the king’s advisor.

Zeno nodded and began to tell a story that still gave him chills. A horror story of years past.

“Before King Hiryuu turned into a human and descended to Earth, he was the king of the dragons. But he had an older sister, the pink dragon, the goddess of war, who became the queen after his descent,” A lump rose in his throat. He attempted to swallow it down before continuing further, but his mouth was dry. “ King Hiryuu was almost killed by humans and refused to go back to the heavens with the four dragons. That made her furious. When she also heard that the four dragons gave their blood and powers to humans, those whom she had already deemed as filthy and unworthy of life, she was enraged. The human race became the target of her hatred.”

“Is this simply a tale about a furious goddess?” asked Soowon. Though his words suggested feelings of disbelief, his eyes were intense, as though he was already waging all of his options and trying to discern the best strategy should things get out of hand.

“Zeno knows that your majesty doesn’t believe in gods nor care about them, but please, listen to Zeno’s story.” Soowon nodded his head, urging Zeno to continue. “After King Hiryuu died, the four dragons separated.The Kingdom of Kouka was at its most vulnerable moment. Knowing this, the pink dragon decided to strike, bringing her wrath on humanity. However, to do this, she first had to do what she most despised: give her blood to a human warrior who would carry out her will".

“I don’t like where this is going,” interrupted Jaeha.

“And you’re right.” Zeno said with a dark expression. “Just like the orders the four dragons gave us were to protect and love King Hiryuu, the pink dragon gave her human warrior three commands: Destroy humanity. Drink the blood of your enemies. Kill the Seiryuu.” everyone’s gaze immediately shifted to Shin Ah. “Though it may seem far fetched, these are things that the pink dragon is capable of doing. To explain this, she has fangs and claws, and skin covered in hard pink scales. She’s as strong as the Hakuryuu and the Ryokuryuu, and her eyes are exactly as the Seiryuu. Further, she only feeds on blood. She was made to kill us.”

“And what about the part where she wants to kill Shin Ah?” demanded Kija.

“That explains your behaviour this morning,” Jaeha added quietly, putting all of the pieces together in his mind.

“In the heavens, the blue dragon and pink dragon are married. When her husband failed to return Hiryuu and agreed to give his blood to a human warrior, she considered his actions to be treason. That is why she especially hates the Seiryuu”

Silence fell upon the tent, further indicating that the mood had clearly shifted. 

A warrior who was stronger than the dragons, who was filled with hatred directed towards humans, and who fed on blood. She was indeed a dangerous enemy.

“And what is the purpose of this story?” asked Soowon.

“This night, in Zeno's dreams, the pink dragon spoke to Zeno. She said that she has returned.”

“Returned to where?” Soowon’s intelligent eyes looked at Zeno “If she has returned back to Kouka, we won’t be safer there. And if we were to return to Hiryuu’s castle, South Kai’s army will storm into our territory. As of right now, we won’t move. The war is still ongoing, so we must maintain our positions.”

“But--”

“If she appears, we have you, don’t we?” Soowon looked directly at Zeno. He could discern that there was something more, a serious detail, that was being left out, but even at a time like this, when Zeno was panicking and overwhelmed, Zeno would never say more than he felt was necessary.

“Yes, you do,” Zeno replied. The slightest hint of unsureness could be found in his voice, but only those closest to him were able to pick up on it.

“Then you’re dismissed.” 

With a last look in Yona’s direction, the dragons left the tent.

Two thousands years ago, after she killed Abi, Zeno fought against the pink dragon. Everything he told the king was told to him by her. Though a warrior of evil, she was surprisingly very chatty when facing Zeno. The true reason for this, though, is that she enjoyed seeing his fear. She was made to kill them indeed… even Zeno. He realized it when his injuries healed slower, when the pain was almost unbearable. Zeno was certain that that woman was the only creature in the world that could kill him.

The remainder of the day ticked on a bit slower than usual. The other three dragons tried to lift Zeno’s spirits, but as he watched the soldiers prepare themselves for the next day’s battle, he became more and more anxious. His chest tightened. He could feel her presence drawing nearer; she was close. 

At dinner, Shin Ah sat beside him with Ao on his shoulder.

“You haven’t touched your food” he pointed. Zeno didn’t respond and after a moment of silence, Shin Ah spoke again, “I can defend myself. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Zeno closed his eyes, the image of Abi’s beautiful golden eyes turning lifeless was still fresh in his mind. “She killed the first Seiryuu. She will kill you too.”

“The first Seiryuu didn’t have a reason to fight. His king was dead and he despised his powers,” Shin Ah replied, with both wisdom and conviction. “I won’t let her separate me from my brothers, Yona, Hak and Yoon. I have a reason to fight.”

Tears raced down Zeno’s face, and he hoped, he hoped with all his heart, that that would be good enough.

None of them slept that night. Hak, Jaeha and Kija made guard in front of their tent, while Yoon, Shin Ah, and even Ao, tried everything in their hands to comfort Zeno.

Dawn came too soon, and with a new day came new troubles. Thousands of soldiers parted to battle early that morning, having no clue what their futures held. Hak was nowhere to be seen, Yoon stayed in the camp, while the dragons stood next to King Soowon. Yona was there, too. Her face grew full of worry when she laid her eyes upon the sleepless dragons, but her mind remained focused on the troubles that were ahead. 

The South Kai’s army formed in front of them. Just in the middle was a wooden cage, and suddenly the tightness in Zeno’s chest became much more intense. He had a really bad feeling about what was going to happen next. 

Two soldiers came forward dragging two young men. They looked like foreigners. One had skin kissed by the sun, wavy dark hair that framed his face perfectly, coming down to his shoulders, and golden brown eyes that resembled pools of honey. The other one was covered from head to toe except for his eyes, though they remained closed. The soldiers stopped in the middle of the battlefield and put a knife against their throats. 

“King Soowon!” screamed the nobleman that was commanding the army. “Now look at the monster I have caught to destroy the Kingdom of Kouka!”

They opened the cage and pulled someone from inside by chains. Chained right there was Zeno’s worst nightmare. Her skin was darker than General Geun Tae, and her pink curly hair was cut close to the scalp. She had claws, fangs, and pink scales that covered almost all her dark skin. 

“She only drinks blood, and I have starved her for weeks!” laughed the general.

They let the chains fall and Zeno stood in front of Shin Ah. She moved faster than the eye, but she didn’t attack them. Before they could do anything, her golden eyes paralized the two soldiers standing in the middle of the battlefield. She jumped with her legs in a split and she kicked both their heads apart from their necks at the same time. Then, she reached for the two foreign men with her arms. And, despite the violence that they just saw next to their heads, they reached back.

Silence fell upon both armies. Zeno waited, he was expecting her to slice their throats open with her fangs, but the three of them just reunited in a tight hug.

“No… this can be possible,” someone said. The South Kai’s nobleman started shaking, looking horrified by the scene “She’s starving! She should have gone straight to eat them!”

Suddenly, she stood again on her feet. This time, Zeno was sure she would go for them.

“I can control myself,” she said in their language with an accent “I won’t kill innocent people in a war that doesn’t concern me. And I will absolutely not kill for the man who kidnapped my brothers and chained me.”

The general turned red, and his shaking fists switched from being motivated by fear to empowered by rage.

“You, bi-”

She didn’t give him the time to insult her. In the blink of an eye she was standing right before him, with her hand in his chest.

They shouldn't have been able to hear her whisper, but they did: “I’m tired of your voice,” she said, almost inaudibly.

Then, she took her hand out of his chest with his heart in her palm. The general fell to the ground with a surprised look on his face. Zeno was having flashbacks, the traumatic images overlapping in his head.

But she didn’t squeeze the heart, she threw it away and went back to the men. One started to wipe the blood from her arm with his cape, and the other one put his arm in front of her in a way that seemed to be like a blood offering. However, she denied it, and, seconds later, she fainted in his arms.

Something was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written fanfiction in about 6 years, and also it's the first time I do it in English, but thanks to my lovely twitter moot Megan, I'm able to show you the best version of this story, as she proofreads and corrects my mistakes or suggests a best way to say what I want to say. So yes, basically, this fic is here thanks to Megan's support and I'm really thankful to her <3


	3. Not the same monster

South Kai’s army fell to shambles and retired in utmost chaos, leaving the wooden cage behind them. For a moment, a look of surprise rested on King Soowon’s face, but it was only natural for an army to retreat without their leader. Furthermore, South Kai’s army had another reason for fear: the pink dragon.

“A knife!” The dark haired guy turned his head towards Kouka Kingdom, demanding a weapon.

The whole army remained silent; meanwhile, Jaeha began walking towards the strange trio of newcomers to offer his help. He advanced entirely on his own, with Kija following closely behind. Zeno was still too shocked to stop them, and Shin Ah was preoccupied with worry for Ouryuu.

“Here,” Jaeha offered one of his knives to the man.

“Thank you,” he responded sincerely. “Abyad, give me your arm.”

The other young man extended his arm, and his friend rolled up his sleeve, exposing skin as white as snow though a bit darkened by the dirt. Then, he made a cut in his comrade’s fair skin and put the wound in the mouth of the pink dragon.

At that moment, Zeno reacted.

“Ryokuryuu, Hakuryuu! Come back here!” he yelled at them.

Immediately, they remembered his words from before, but they stood there amazed as the pink scales started to disappear from the girl’s skin and her claws retracted. She slowly opened her eyes, gently sucking the blood from Abyad.

Her eyes were beautiful: bright as pure gold, with pupils vertical like those of a reptile, framed by long pink eyelashes. She sat there, still as can be, with nearly nothing left to signify her as the pink dragon besides her fangs, eyes and pink hair. 

“Wow, her eyes really are like Shin Ah’s,” whispered Kija.

Finally, Zeno arrived, putting his body between his brothers and his enemy. Something was wrong. Zeno could feel that something was different with that pink dragon.  _ But no mortal could reject the orders from the gods, he thought. _ He couldn’t trust her.

“Zeno told you to go back!” He pushed them both in the direction of Kouka’s army.

“Diego,” a soft voice spoke at his back. “Do that again and I’m stabbing you. I was too hungry! What if I sucked all of his blood? Then it would have been your fault”

“But you were perfectly in control,” he replied.

“I just killed a man! In what world is that being in control?” Their slightly playful bickering continued.

She wasn’t attacking anyone. Zeno turned to her slowly, watching as she argued with the dark haired guy as if no one else was there. For a moment, she almost looked like a normal human surrounded by comrades, the one called Abyad was resting his face on her shoulder, eyes closed, while Diego attended to his friend’s wound. Looking closer, Zeno could see that the white skin around his eyes was sunburned and his eyelashes were also white, as if snow had fallen on them.

Seeing how lost Zeno looked, Jaeha again took control of the situation.

“In my opinion, that man deserved it, lovely pink lady,” he said. “You must be exhausted. Since our enemies ran away, would you like to come to our campament and tell us your story?”

“That-” Zeno was silenced by Kija’s hand.

“Did he just call me a _ lovely lady _ , Diego?” the girl kept ignoring them.

“He did. Clearly, he doesn’t know you.”

“You two are being rude,” Abyad spoke for the first time. He put his hands on the ground in front of him, feeling the earth for a moment, before standing up. “Would someone please explain to me our current situation?”

A brief moment of silence fell upon the present warriors as they stood across each other. Zeno felt like the ground under his feet wasn’t stable anymore as he saw how Kija and Jaeha helped the trio to get up while speaking in a friendly manner with them. He looked back to Kouka’s army, which was already withdrawing, and felt relieved. Yona and Shin Ah were nowhere to be seen, meaning that they went back to the campament as he asked them to. 

At least one dragon listened to him.

King Soowon was looking at him, his eyes transmitted a clear message:  _ Is this the vicious monster you were so worried about? _

“Do you hear-” Zeno spoke, capturing the attention of the dragons near him. He looked straight into the eyes of the pink dragon “Do you hear a voice inside you telling you to kill everyone?”

“How does he-” Diego spoke, but the pink dragon interrupted him, raising her hand in front of his face.

She stepped further until she was standing right in front of Zeno, and she smiled, showing her fangs. The smile that sent shivers down Zeno’s spine years ago, was now strangely calming and sweet.

“My name is Rosa,” she extended her hand to him. “I hear that voice, but I control that demon inside me. It doesn’t matter how thirsty or how angry I am; I will never be what they want me to be.”

She sounded sincere; Zeno was old and wise enough to know when someone was lying and he could tell that she wasn’t. But could he trust her? He was sure she was reincarnated like the other dragons, and after all those years, they responded to the orders the gods gave them when they saw Yona with the same intensity as the original dragon warriors. Why would she be different? 

“Now you’re the one being rude, kid,” complained Diego.

Jaeha laughed, “Kid, he said.”

Diego looked at him with a raised eyebrow not quite getting the joke.

“Why don’t we go to the campament and talk about this? There’s a reason for Zeno’s behavior, and we have a lot of questions that we’d like to inquire of you,” suggested Kija.

“I don’t know about that. There’s another place we need to be…” Diego looked back to the border that divided Kouka from South Kai.

Finally, Rosa gave up on Zeno and, with a sad sigh, she turned to the other dragons. “Okay, let’s go. I’m curious to know why this guy hates me so much when he doesn’t even know me,” she spoke with a tinge of annoyance.

The three dragons led the way, chatting about what Rosa had done just a few minutes ago. Diego and Abyad followed closely behind, arm in arm, with the white-haired one occasionally stumbling on the pathway, nearly losing his balance completely if not for the help of his comrade. Zeno was behind them; his eyes were locked on their hands, but his mind was far away.

He wondered if maybe she was able to control herself around normal people, but the possibility of the wrath of the pink dragon against her husband being greater than her hatred towards humanity still remained.

He could hear Kija and Jaeha laughing with her. She had a gentle and melodic laugh. How could a killing beast have such a beautiful laugh, such caring eyes, such soft voice? She must have a history, some sort of explanation. Zeno was so confused, all his beliefs about the pink dragon were crumbling. Could he be optimistic? Could he expect the pink dragon to truly resist her commands and be an ally? 

The soldiers looked at them with curiosity, after all, until some hours ago they were ready to fight the enemy army, and now, thanks to that woman, they were all safe and sound.

When they arrived at King Soowon’s tent, Zeno again began to feel overwhelmed since neither Yona nor Shin Ah were there, just the King and his advisor.

“Welcome to Kouka. I guess I should thank you as we had to fight a battle today, but because of you, that battle won’t be held as soon as we were expecting.” spoke Soowon. “I’m the King of Kouka, Soowon. And you are?”

“My name is Rosa,” the pink dragon spoke. “These are my brothers, Diego and Abyad.”

The King didn’t question her statement, even though not one of the three individuals had matching complexions or similar facial features. It simply was not his business to dwell upon. 

“Your brother, Jaeha, I believe, said you know something about the origins of my power. I would like to hear it,” spoke Rosa, looking at Zeno.

Again, Zeno told the story, this time to a different audience. He first had to explain the legend of King Hiryuu and the four dragons, and surprisingly, Kija even had to show them his claw for them to believe it. When he reached the part about the pink dragon, her brothers interrupted multiple times to complain, but Rosa remained silent at all moments, immersed in her own thoughts while still listening to his voice.

“Rosa would never do that,” stated Adyad. “She isn’t like that pink dragon”

Suddenly, she stood still and walked towards Zeno.

“Because of what my ancestor did? That’s why you hate me? Even when you saw me contain my blood lust and watched me laugh with your friends? I think I have proved that I’m different!” her voice raised slightly at the end, and Zeno could tell that she was deeply affected by the situation.

“If you saw what Zeno saw-” Zeno began, trying to explain himself but getting cut off part way through.

“I have spent my whole life-- _ my whole life _ \--running from place to place because everyone always thought I was a monster! And finally, when I thought I had found a place where I was not feared by others, my brothers got kidnapped because some people wanted to take advantage of my power. They want to use me to fight people like me! But you!” she angrily pointed a finger at Zeno. “You are like me, yet you know  _ nothing  _ about me!” Rosa screamed, storming out of the tent.

Zeno’s first impulse was to go after her, worried that she would encounter Shin Ah or Yona, but Diego grabbed him by his sleeve.

“Wait, before you go, let me tell you our history. She’s right. You know nothing about her, but maybe if you listen to this, you will be able to find some peace of mind and trust her,” he said.

Rosa was furious. She knew she had to go back to South Kai for the sake of her friends, but she thought that she and her brothers could rest a while with the people of Kouka since they didn’t seem scared of her even after seeing her in her true form. It was because the people of Kouka Kingdom had already seen people like her, she wasn’t alone. Sure, her brothers were also special, but nobody feared them. All her life she thought she was possessed by a demon, feeling guilty for her thoughts, hating herself. She would have nightmares every night with the man that imprisoned her in a golden cage when she was just a child, his words routinely haunting her before she could go to sleep.

_ “You’re a monster.” _

_ “Nobody will love you.” _

_ “Everyone fears you.” _

_ “You’re evil.” _

Those words kept her sane as they were her motivation to be the opposite of what he always said she would be.

Rosa continued to wander around for what seemed like hours. She was lost in her thoughts. That’s why, even though she could see farther away than any ordinary human, she didn’t see that Shin Ah was standing in her path, staring at her with amazement in his eyes.

“Oh sorry,” she said, after accidentally bumping into him. She looked up to see a tall man with blue hair, some type of red face makeup and a blindfold.

“D-don’t worry, it was my fault,” he said. After a moment of doubt, he spoke again, “Are you okay?”

“No,” she never had a problem talking about her feelings with strangers, something she could thank Diego for. “This guy, Zeno, hates me because of something my ancestor did. But that’s not me! I’m different! I’m so mad. I-I’m no-not a mons-monster.” She started to cry. “I’m not his monster.”

Rosa fell on her knees, and sobbed into her hands, throwing Shin Ah into a panic.. He asked himself what Yona would do, and then squatted down, and looking into her tearful eyes, he retired his blindfold.

“Look, we have the same eyes,” he said.

As he spoke, a vision came into their minds. Shin Ah saw a pink dragon flying in the sky with a storm following closely behind her. She looked furious.

“You have betrayed me! You failed to bring back my brother and gave your blood and powers to those unworthy humans! I am disappointed! I am enraged! Our sons are dead because you are a coward! I hate you!” she screamed to him, the purest pain tinted her words.

Meanwhile, Rosa saw a blue dragon calmly flying in a blue sky. He looked at her with sad but gentle eyes.

“I am sorry and I love you. I love you more than birds love the sky, and I love you as intensely as you hate me. I hope one day you can forgive me, my love.” Then, a storm appeared and the gentle eyes of the blue dragon turned savage. “But what you did was wrong, you cannot blame the humans for our sins, so I am going to send your beast far away from Kouka and from my warrior.”

Back to the present, Shin Ah and Rosa looked at each other's eyes with surprise. 

“Are you the Seiryuu?” she asked.

Though she already knew, her blood was boiling and the voice in her head was loudly commanding her to kill him. 

“Yes,” he answered. 

“That marriage seems complicated,” she stated, half joking to put them both at ease. 

But before she could say anything else, Shin Ah got up and ran away. He left her behind, confused and tearful. Zeno told him to keep his distance with her and he didn't want to stress the Ouryuu even more, especially after seeing that ominous vision. He didn't see the blue dragon, only the pink, and all of her hatred made him nervous. 

Rosa was frozen still. Just a moment ago she was crying, but now she was too conflicted to even move.

“Was he raised in a cave? That’s not the way to end a conversation!” she complained, suddenly irritated.

Then, someone laughed at her from behind. She turned and found a cute red haired girl. Next to her, was a tall soldier with scars on his face and an intimidating frown, but the squirrel on his shoulder made him look much less scary.

“You don’t seem dangerous,” she said.

“I could crush your skull with a hand,” Rosa stated.

It wasn’t a threat, just a fact, but the man reached for his swords. Rosa was ready to defend herself, but the girl put a hand in front of the soldier and stopped him.

“It’s okay, General Joodoh.” Then, even though she was wearing luxurious and beautiful clothes, she sat on her knees next to Rosa. “What I meant is that you have the strength to be dangerous, but you choose not to be,” she said with a soft smile. “My name is Yona.”

“Nice to meet you, Yona. I’m Rosa” she replied, smiling in return. Yona looked closely at her face and realized that underneath all of that dirt, Rosa was actually very beautiful.“You’re right,” Rosa continued. “I choose not to use my powers. I have the choice. But that little dragon doesn’t seem convinced.”

“Zeno is my friend. He has his reasons to be afraid of you.”

“Yes, I know, he already told me. But that makes me even more angry. That dragon he’s thinking of is not me.” Rosa stared intensely at Yona. She had a delicate and fragile look but there was fire burning in her eyes. “Maybe you will understand If I tell you who I really am.”


	4. Golden chains

The first time Diego saw Rosa, he was waiting for his father and his men to come back from the raid at the south of the border. Diego’s father was one of the war heroes of their kingdom, and he wore that title with excessive pride. The Queen gave him a castle and slaves, and then he married the third princess. 

Diego wanted to be like his father when he grew older, but he was only five years old, and it was easy to ignore the resentful look in the servants eyes, the blood that nobody could wash out of the patio’s ground, or how the women and kids trembled around him. He could only see the shiny armor, the blonde hair and the honey eyes that looked at him lovingly. 

He also ignored the fact that the princess, his mother, died from a very grave cold, and that it was because his father, in a moment of wrath, left his wife outside the castle in the middle of a storm for hours.

He only saw the hand that gently touched his curls, not the blood that covered it.

That day, when Diego met Rosa, it was storming outside, so he waited in the castle’s hall. All the servants were running around him to prepare for their master’s arrival, making sure everything was perfect.

The immense double doors opened for the heroes, and everyone froze. Fifty men left the castle one month ago, but in front of Diego there were only fourteen. They were all covered in wounds and scars, some of them had missing limbs, and his father was the worst of them all. His handsome face was covered in new, bloody markings , one of his eyes was deeply slashed and probably blinded, and he was also missing one hand and limping on his left leg. 

“Diego,” his father called for him with a broken smile, the blank spaces due to his newly missing teeth suddenly became visible. “Do you want to see the monster that left us in this state?”

Diego shook his head from side to side, scared to death of whatever could wound his father the way it did. But the master called for his new pet, and three soldiers dragged a small body covered in golden chains by the ground. Diego could see a mess of pink curls and dark brown skin, but the kid was covered in blood and chains, so he couldn’t see anything more.

“Look at her, Diego,” his father said. “This monster is just around your age, and she has killed so many people. Her only weakness, for some reason, is gold. It was discovered a hundred years ago in an old eastern kingdom. You see, this is a demon that possesses the body of a little girl in her mother’s womb, and when you kill her, the demon possesses another body. But it’s always more to the west than the last time”

“But she’s so young…” Diego finally spoke.

“Yes, but she has the strength of a hundred men and she can paralyze you if she looks you in the eye. Now, I’m gonna put her in a golden cage in the dungeon. Don’t go there, never. Understood?” 

“Yes, father.”

But Diego wasn’t an obedient child.

Diego wasn’t sure why, but in the castle all the servants were particular in some way. Some of them were adults of toddler’s size, others had weird hair colours, painted bodies, too much hair or too little… The peculiarities reached a point that made the castle earn the famous name of “The Monster’s House”.

Among all his father’s servants, Diego had a favourite: a boy four years older than him, with skin as white as snow, that came from the enemy lands of the east. His mother rejected him the moment she saw his red eyes, and his relatives sold him to the master. The people around him would usually get away from his path, thinking that he was cursed or was the child of a demon. 

And that night, when everyone was sleeping, the young master got out of his bed and walked through the dark corridors alone to go meet his cursed friend. 

Abyad had a room for him alone, it was an old pantry with a humid and cold air. Diego knocked on the door three times and waited for him to come out.

“Where are we going?” Abyad sticked out his white head and glared at his young master.

“We’re going to meet the new member of the castle,” Diego explained with excitement.

“But isn’t she the one who killed thirty-six knights and badly injured the rest?” Abyad took a step back shaking his head with worry.

But Diego held his hand and smiled at him, and though he couldn’t see it, it calmed the white haired boy.

“Don’t worry, she’s chained and in a cage,” Diego pulled his friend out of his bedroom, ignoring his hesitation. “C’mon. I’ll guide you in the dark.”

Diego’s sight was normal at daylight, but at night it was exceptional. He could see everything, like if darkness didn't bother him at all. Nobody put much thought into it, but the truth was, that even the young master of the castle was a weird specimen himself.

The door to the dungeon was locked.

“Who could have the key?” questioned Diego.

“Forget about it, Diego. Let’s go play outside, you know I can’t go out at day because my skin will get sunburned.” Abyad appreciated very much the walks under the moonlight with his little friend, but when something was inside Diego’s head, it was almost impossible to change his mind.

“Dad could have it, but someone else must have a copy,” the simple-minded child mumbled to himself. “Let’s go to the barracks.”

“Excuse me?” Abyad objected,but Diego was again pulling his friend by his hand, ignoring his complaints. Abyad was the only one that would ever complain or deny something to the young master, but at the same time, he was the only one who could never tell him no. 

The barracks had less men than before, but it was still full of noisy snores and strong smells. Diego told Abyad to stay outside while he sneaked into the room. With his night vision he inspectioned the possessions of every soldier, but none of them had a key. 

“Give up, Diego. If she’s that dangerous, your father must be the only one with a key.” 

Abyad was always the voice of the reason between the two of them, as he was older, while Diego was a spoiled kid, and giving up was not something that he would do so easily.

They laid on their backs on the grass behind the castle, Diego sighing in frustration over the missing key while the moonlight bathed their skins. 

The following nights, the two kids continued to search everywhere for the key, but it was nowhere to be found. They looked in the kitchen, but no one was assigned to feed the beast. It wasn’t in the maids’ rooms either, as the dungeon was never cleaned. 

Diego was about to give up when, one morning, he saw his father coming out of the dungeon, but he wasn’t carrying the key with him. Instead, he put it in the only place Diego would never dare to reach, the only thing in the whole castle that made fear rise in Diego’s heart: his father hung the key around the neck of his huge, black dog. 

Placing the key in the dog’s custody was a smart move on the war hero’s part. However, there was one thing Diego’s father didn’t consider: the one that fed the dog was Abyad, and Abyad was Diego’s friend.

“The dog has it, it’s in his collar,” Diego conveyed to Abyad that night. He spoke in a hushed voice, afraid that someone in the castle might overhear and spoil their adventure.

“So it  _ was  _ the dungeon key?” Abyad tried to pretend he didn’t already know.

After several minutes of discussing the best possible plan, Diego ended up convincing Abyad to steal the key and open the dungeon door, telling him over and over that the monster trapped in there couldn’t be anything worth cowering over, but the older one had something to fear more than the dangerous girl trapped in the dungeon. The greatest monster of the castle was its owner, the most ruthless man anyone knew but Diego deeply admired his father, so Abyad kept quiet about the consequences he might face and obtained the key as requested. Diego ran happily and opened the dungeon door, Abyad following closely behind. Abyad was scared, his mind, long gone from his friend’s side, could only think of what type of punishment the master would use.

“Don’t worry, Abyad,” Diego smiled at him. “After this we will return the key to the dog so Dad won’t catch us.”

Abyad was sure that the master would catch them sooner or later, but he followed Diego downstairs into the dark dungeon anyway. The wooden floor was rotten and the air was humid and cold. They lit up a torch and searched for the so-called dangerous creature until the torchlight eventually came upon a golden cage. 

Inside was the little girl, her ankles and wrists were chained to the ground with heavy golden chains. Her hair created a messy, curly pink cloud around her little face, as she sat there awake. She looked at them with the most precious eyes any of the boys had ever seen; they were pure gold.

“Don’t look at her eyes, Abyad. Dad said that she can paralyze you,” Diego suddenly remembered. “Hi, do you speak our language?”

The girl didn’t answer, she just kept watching them.

“She’s from the South, right? Then she speaks another language,” said Abyad.

“Hum, that’s boring!” Diego complained and waved his arms and legs before sitting in front of her cage.

“Let’s go back, Diego. You can’t communicate with her.” 

Suddenly, an intense wind entered the dungeon and blew out the torch, and a voice speaking in a language from a land far away accompanied it:

“Use our language,” the voice whispered in their ears.

The torch lit up again, and the girl was looking everywhere with her eyes wide open.

“Did you hear that?” She spoke for the first time, in the same language as the voice.

There was a reason why Abyad and Diego were friends. The young master didn’t have the necessity to make a friend out of a servant, and a servant would never want to be friends with a spoiled, noble child. But they had one thing in common: there were two ghosts that spoke to each one, and the voice that just spoke belonged to the one that followed Abyad.

“So she also speaks this language.” Taught to them by the ghosts, both kids were able to speak this foreign language.

“That was Abyad’s ghost,” replied Diego, happy that there was a way to talk to her. “How do you know this language? Is there also a ghost that follows and speaks to you?”

The girl looked suspiciously at him.

“The voice is inside me,” she answered. “She’s a demon. So, those ghosts that are outside you must also be demons”

“It’s true that they say some rude things sometimes and my ghost possesed my body once,” said Diego. “But they’re good. My dad called a priest after the possession and he told him that it is a protective ghost.”

“Don’t ask who they are the ghost of, though,” Abyad answered her question before she could even part her lips. “They won’t tell us.”

“But stop asking about ghosts and demons. What’s your name?” Diego blurted, both his impatience and his curiosity getting the best of him.

“I don’t have one. What are you doing here? Who are you? Why are you talking to a demon? Do you also want to harm me?” the girl replied, suddenly completely on guard again.

Diego ignored all her questions and got closer to the cage. He looked intently at her while deeply lost in thought. Abyad, on the other side, had his mind stuck on the last question, and it worried him. The girl was covered in blood, she had multiple wounds all over her little body where the scales didn’t cover her skin, and her fangs were broken.

“Did the master torture you?” he asked, getting close to the cage for the first time.

“Dad would never torture a little girl, even if she’s possesed by a demon. He said he’s gonna save her soul,” Diego waved his hand in the air, quickly discarding such an idea. “What about Rosa? It means pink in my language, and you’re pink.”

The girl looked at Abyad. She would tell them in the future how much she really hated Diego at that moment and that she thought he was stupid. The white boy felt her intense glare and took his index finger to his lips, instructing her to not break the illusions of the little boy. 

“Call me Rosa, then. I don’t care”

“You’re not funny,” he pouted again.

“I’m hungry, bleeding and chained up. The voice in my head is telling me to tear you apart piece by piece, and if you don’t get away from me, I will do as she says.”

Abyad grabbed Diego by his arm with the intention of getting out of there, but the younger one slapped his hand and pointed at the girl.

“There’s no need to be rude. We can help you. Tell us what you want to eat and we’ll bring it, and I can’t do anything about the chains, but I’m pretty good at treating wounds. Abyad taught me, and I’ve surpassed my master,” the kid looked proud of it.

“I only drink human blood,” she said with a straight face.

Diego put his arm inside the cage without hesitation, but Abyad pushed him away.

“What are you doing?!” That was the first time Abyad yelled at his friend. “Are you crazy? She could kill you!”

Diego started to cry due to his best friend scolding, and because Abyad pushed him a bit too hard. That’s why they didn’t notice that Abyad was too close to the cage and that the chains were long enough for the girl to reach him.

She was fastest that the human eye, she grabbed Abyad’s arm and bit into it. Diego screamed but Abyad stayed silent, he was paralyzed by the fear yet too accustomed to the pain to even feel it. To the boys’ surprise, she didn’t kill him. After drinking only a little of his blood, she retreated to her previous spot.

Abyad fell to his knees, feeling relieved as the fear slowly faded away. Just a few moments ago, he thought that he would breathe his last breath.

“You said you would feed me and treat my wounds. I can’t kill you,” She explained. “But my fangs are cut, so I made a mess on your arm, sorry.”

That was true. The wound in Abyad’s arm was horrendous. He was still paralyzed, shocked by the fact he was still alive. In contrast, Diego got up and quickly ran out of the dungeon, sobbing quietly.

He came back after some minutes with herbs and other medicinal equipment. He first treated the wound of Abyad, who was slowly coming back to his senses, then Rosa, and afterwards, the two young boys left quietly. 

The boys returned the key to the dog and didn’t go back to the dungeon for weeks. Surprisingly, it was Abyad who broke the cycle and suggested visiting the pink-haired girl again. 

“So you’re back. Didn’t I scare you enough?” she inquired, setting her eyes upon the two in front of her.

“You talk like you are older because only older people have ever spoken to you,” Abyad sat in front of the cage while Diego hid behind him. “You scare everyone because you fear that they would also hurt you, or that you will hurt them. You’re not bad, just lonely.”

She looked surprised. “How...?” she started, her voice trailing off into silence.

“Because I’m the same,” he answered. “But this kid makes my nights less lonely now, and maybe it’s my turn to do the same for another pained child.”

They came back every night for weeks, and the young, trapped girl opened her heart to them little by little. Sometimes, she seemed like a true five year old child. Diego, too, became his lively self again and soon was the one controlling the topics of their conversations. He treated her wounds, and also Abyad’s, after he shared his blood with her again. Her once lost fangs were growing back, like the baby teeth of most humans. The boys also realized after some nights that Rosa’s scales and claws disappeared when she was well fed, and the voice in her head was quieter.

But they were only children after all. They didn’t realize that they weren’t the only ones visiting her and noticing the changes.

Seven months later, on a warm, sunny day, things took a drastic change. It was that day that Diego discovered his beloved father was, indeed, a monster. 

He was summoned to the patio, and Abyad was there too. They were surprised when they saw a soldier dragging Rosa outside by her chains. Another man was beaten up and sobbing in the middle of the patio, tied up and begging for forgiveness.

“This man has been spreading false rumours about me,” the master explained. “So, he’s gonna be punished”

“Are you gonna kill him?” Diego asked.

He was trying not to look at his friends because his father would scold him, or so he thought. The truth was that he was about to do something even worse.

“No, no.” The master shook his head. “The pink demon is gonna do it.” Abyad and Diego looked worriedly at Rosa, but she kept her face down. “I haven’t fed her since I brought her here, so she must be starving, right?”

“I don’t wanna,” she muttered.

Abyad had a bad feeling at that moment. He could understand why Diego was there, but not why he was there. And she wasn’t hungry because he had been feeding her for the past months. It was then when he realized that the master knew.

“Then your little friends are the ones who are gonna suffer.”

Two soldiers grabbed Abyad and Diego. The first one was in disbelief, he had been punished before, but Diego was as spoiled as a prince. Diego, on the other hand, was confused as the soldiers made them hug a wooden pole in the middle of the patio. When they took off their shirts, Abyad reacted.

“Master! You surely can’t do this to your own son!” he screamed, horrified.

But the master was only watching Rosa with a sinister smile.

“Abyad? What is gonna happen?” Diego asked, they were eye to eye, and Abyad knew that the sight of his friend in pain would wound him more than the whip.

“Master!” He tried again. “Punish only me! I was the one who took the key from the dog’s collar! I was the one who was interested in the monster! Please spare the young master!”

But his words were ignored and the whip cracked and fell upon the bare skin of their small, fragile backs. 

“No!” It was Rosa who screamed, she tried to run to them, but she was weakened by the gold and fell on her back when the soldier pulled the chains.

“You can end this. Just kill that man,” the master spoke calmly.

Abyad didn’t scream, his vision was fixed on the eyes of the young boy in front of him, even if his sight was blurry, he saw his eyes. That whip was more painful that the one used on him the other times, he could tell that this one pierced his flesh. Diego screamed when the whip wounded him, his eyes full of tears and his mouth letting out a loud cry.

But the whip fell again, and no one paid attention to the little boy’s screams, except for Abyad who was in front of him, and who didn’t let a single sound escape. Just tears quietly falling down. He was right, Diego’s pain hurt him more than any whip could.

Rosa was also shouting, calling out for her friends while witnessing their agony. Before Diego and Abyad fell to the ground, unconscious, a new voice entered their ears. This time, it belonged to the man who was earlier crying for forgiveness. Rosa let out her rage on the victim, screaming in pain for her friends, and in anger towards the master. After she finished, the poor man’s face and body were so battered and bloody that he no longer looked like a man. Not even his mother would have been able to recognize him.

“See?” The master whispered to her ear. “This is the only thing you can do: cause pain.”

Later on, Diego’s wounds were treated by the best doctors in the castle. Meanwhile, Abyad healed slowly by himself with only the help of some servants who pitied him. For both boys, though, there were wounds craved so deep inside them that no plain herb or expensive medicine could ever cure.

“You knew my father was a monster, yet you never told me,” was the last thing Diego said to Abyad nights after the incident.

After that night, they never spoke again, nor did they ever return to the dungeon.


	5. The fall of the hero

Rosa and Abyad believed that they didn’t have the right to speak to the young master anymore, after all, by associating with them, he was forced to experience his father’s wrath. Because of this, neither one attempted to speak to Diego or inquire of him from others. Abyad continued working in the castle, while Rosa killed every person that the master ordered her to. They didn’t know what was going through Diego’s head; they never could tell.

“Diego, tomorrow is your eleventh birthday. All the preparations are ready.”   
Diego didn’t answer his father, he was busy swinging his new sword alone in the patio. The soldiers training him were always praising him, for he was taller and stronger than most boys his age, and full of rage.

“Diego,” his father's voice turned more severe, and he knew he could ignore him no longer.

“Okay. Thank you, dad.”

The master stayed a bit more, overseeing his training, and then reentered the castle. A few moments later, Diego threw the sword and it pierced the wood of the closed door just in the spot where his father’s head was before.

One could call it destiny, but the next one who opened the door was Abyad. The sun had almost finished setting, so he was able to come out of the castle without having to worry about his pale skin. 

They looked at each other for a moment, Abyad was already fifteen, yet he was just a few centimeters taller than Diego.

Abyad looked down and Diego got his sword out of the door, he had just passed him when Abyad spoke.

“Yesterday, my ghost possessed me. In the middle of the fog… I could see”

Diego left out a sigh. “That was what I was waiting for.”   
He never told his father, but Diego’s ghost possessed him two more times. He also spoke with the ghost frequently, as he felt lonely without Abyad and Rosa. This ghost helped him trace his plan, and he discovered a few things about him. He wasn’t good.

Abyad went onto the patio and sat in front of the pole that ruined the only good thing he had in his life. His sight was beginning to get worse, but he could recognise his friend simply by looking at the shape of his body, his colours, his voice, everything was engraved in his mind. It pained him to see Diego in the corridors, hearing the other servants talk about their young master. He was so close yet so far away.

He was already fifteen, even if he was practically blind, he had enough skills to take care of himself. He knew he could survive in a town on his own, without the constant, painful reminders of the day he lost his best friend. So he made a decision.

After dinner, when everyone was already sleeping, Abyad went to feed the master’s dog and took the dungeon key for the first time in six years. If it was painful seeing Diego everyday, it was just as painful not seeing Rosa. He only knew that the master usually took her with him on his raids, and that she would come back covered in others blood.

He went down the stairs with his heart racing and hands sweating profusely. He could stand his master’s silence, because he knew he deserved it, but Rosa’s hate would destroy him, because he was the one who came back so many nights ago and started that friendship.

“You’re taller.”

Abyad looked at her, he could tell that she was also taller and also that she cut her hair, but no other details.

“Well, I’m a man now. But you should see Diego, he’s almost as tall as me, and everyone says that he’s gonna be the best knight of the empire in just a few years,” he said, sitting on the ground in front of her.

The silence accompanied them for a while. There was too much to say, and neither of them knew where to start.

“I’m gonna leave the castle tonight,” Abyad stated, breaking the silence

“Run, you can do it,” she laughed bitterly.

The silence fell upon them again. They both wanted to say so many things, they wanted to apologize, to cry about their pain. Rosa wanted to ask more about Diego, and Abyad wanted to ask if the blood that he smelled in the dungeon was hers. But none of them spoke.

“What are you doing there, slave?”

Abyad felt like all his hopes were crushed at that exact moment. When he looked upstairs, he saw the master standing at the door. 

Rosa got up, the chains sounding after her movements. It was the literal image of a trapped tiger, she was looking at that master’s nasty smile, wishing with every ounce of her body to take his heart in her hand and crush it. 

But there was a person who hated the master of the castle more than both of them together. Only someone who once loved you can hate you in the same way.

To Abyad and Rosa’s surprise, suddenly a sword pierced the master from behind, going right through his heart. With a look of painful surprise, his body became limp and fell down the stairs as all signs of life escaped from his eyes.

Abyad looked shocked at the body next to him, while Diego rushed downstairs into the dungeon. With a blow of his bloody sword, he broke the lock of the golden cage.

“Abyad, can you make your ghost possess you again? We will need the fog and I need you seeing clearly,” he said while examining Rosa’s chains.

“What?” the other boy muttered.

“Gold is the weakest of metals,” Diego ignored him “You may not be able to break it because of some curse, but I’m not cursed.”

Rosa saw how Diego’s hands were shaking while he was breaking the chains with his sword. He was acting composed, but he just killed his father.There was no humane way that he was okay.

“Diego…” Abyad’s voice sounded strangled.

“There’s no time to waste. Call the ghost, we need to get out of here.” He finished breaking the chains and held one of Rosa’s hands. “Let’s go.”

A cold wind came into the dungeon, the air became more humid and a faint laugh echoed between the walls. Abyad’s eyes were suddenly shining gold.

“Hi, Mist,” said Diego “Get us out of here”

Abyad smiled but he wasn’t Abyad. Diego detested seeing that spirit using his friend’s face, even more after knowing what he knew about them. 

Mist avoided the master’s body and went upstairs while the other two followed closely behind. The corridors were covered in fog and the sounds of the people waking up started to be heard in the distance. They had to hurry.

“Kid,” that was Abyad’s mouth, but it was Mist’s voice. The same voice that spoke to them in that dungeon six years ago. “Give me the sword.”

Diego agreed, he was still recovering from the shock of his first kill and he wouldn’t be able to kill another person in a while. Mist made a funny face as the sword was heavier than the one he was used to, but he walked through the fog confidently, checking every few seconds that the other two were following him.

“Stop there!” The soldier was blocking the back door, but Mist silenced him, slicing his throat without hesitation and kicked the body far from the door. 

There were arrows and an arc in the back patio, and Mist returned the sword to its owner, as he was originally a long distance fighter.

The fog was even more dense outside and he had to take Rosa and Diego’s hand to run through it. The voices of the soldiers became more and more distant as the breaths of the little group of fugitives grew louder.

It was past midnight when Mist left Abyad’s body and the three of them stopped to rest.

Diego lit a fire under the vigilant eyes of his friends.

“I have a plan. We will cross the northern border. I’m relatively fluent in their language. We say we are orphans, which is not a lie, and also we’re traveling entertainers. I have brought some money but it won’t last long so we have to come out with a real performance soon.” He sat in front of the fire, waiting for a response.

His companions didn’t care about that, though.

“Why did you do that? The master abused you because of me. We haven’t talked in six years. I thought you hated me,” Rosa looked really confused.

“What are you saying? It was my fault. I knew the kind of person the master was and I didn’t stop Diego. I was the one who insisted on visiting you!” Abyad complained.

“You two, shut the fuck up.” Both of them looked surprised at the young master, no, their friend, for his vocabulary. “My father was a bad person. And whose fault was that? Only his. Now, end of discussion. I just stayed away from you because I was tracing this plan so let’s not screw it up now. Who here knows how to dance?”   
Abyad realized in that moment that though he knew the Diego who held his hand years ago and gave him a name, he didn’t know the broken shell of that kid who sat in front of him. His hero was now a monster. His childhood was taken from him with the fall of a whip, and he had to make decisions that no kid should ever face.

“I only know how to kill,” Rosa spoke first.

“Well… we’ll have to learn then.” Diego clapped his hands and smiled. “Tomorrow will be another day, I don’t think they’ll follow us this far, so let’s get some rest.”

None of them complained, tired as they were from running, and laid their backs on the forest’s floor. The full moon was shining over them, and the crackle of the fire was relaxing their muscles little by little.

“Guys… Are you two still awake?”

“Yes, Rosa,” Abyad answered, though he yawned just after.

“I had an older brother, once. But I killed him.” Only the nature’s sounds could be heard, the boys were silenced by her pained voice. “I miss him.”

It was Diego who spoke next; Abyad hadn’t a clue what to say.

“We can be your older brothers,” he said.

“Really?” her voice showed a vulnerability that only those two could hear.

“Yes. We’ll be your brothers,” Abyad looked in the direction of her voice, but, with nothing but the distant moonlight, he couldn’t make out her face well enough to see her reaction.

“But I won’t be Abyad’s brother,” Diego rushed his words.

“Good, I don’t want a brat as a younger brother” Abyad said defensively, he was a bit hurt by his words.

Diego was about to reply, but Rosa softly laughed and they relaxed. Her laughs were always soft and quiet, like if she was too scared to show the universe that she was happy, and that made the boys even more protective of her. At that moment, there was nothing more important to them than Rosa’s happiness. 

A while later, Abyad woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of sobbing. He went in the direction of the sound, expecting it to be Rosa. But when he touched their head, it wasn’t the frizzy and untamed curls of Rosa, but the soft waves of Diego’s hair that he felt.

“Diego?” he whispered.

“I killed a man tonight,” his friend said, sobbing quietly.

Abyad doubted for a moment, they weren’t kids anymore, but after another violent sob, he laid next to him and hugged his childhood friend.

“I was surprised too. You didn’t need to kill him to escape.”

“But I wanted to.” It was just a sentence, but he said it with so much hate that it scared Abyad.

“Why?”

“Because he hurt you. Because he hurt Rosa. Because he disappointed me.” He paused for a long time, and both boys sat in silence. “You’re my family now, I won’t let anyone harm you again.”

That moved Abyad, but he shoved his emotions away.

“So we’re family, but I’m not your brother. Why?”

“Just because.”

“That’s not a valid answer”

“Shut up,” Diego hid his face in Abyad’s chest, who was trying to stop his laugh in order to avoid annoying his best friend even more.


End file.
